CSBA’s Research and Education Policy Development (REPD) Department has released new resources to aid local educational agency governance teams in better supporting some of California’s most vulnerable students and customizing their own professional development to meet the needs of their community.

Newcomer students — immigrant students in their first years at U.S. schools — often require specialized curricula and instruction to succeed academically, as well as access to numerous social services to meet housing, food, legal aid and mental health needs. They also represent a growing student population, particularly in California, where about one in 36 students in the state was a newcomer, according to data from fall 2023, the most recent available from the California Department of Education (CDE).

A broad term for students in their first months or years of schooling in the U.S., “newcomer” doesn’t have a singular definition. Newcomer youth may be refugees and asylees who fled their country of origin because of persecution, war or violence, or students with interrupted formal education who are behind multiple grade levels in academic content because of limited schooling in their country of origin, or even unaccompanied minors or undocumented students.

A new REPD fact sheet reviews current newcomer demographics, educational requirements and approaches to support them, state law requirements regarding immigration enforcement activities and guiding questions for board members to ask to best serve this student population. The fact sheet concludes with relevant CSBA sample board policies and resources on education and immigration enforcement in schools.

In October 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 714, which requires the CDE to put together a list of resources on best practices and requirements for teaching newcomer students and to report the number of newcomer students enrolled and their countries of origin. State law also requires that LEAs adopt California Attorney General model policies or equivalent policies that limit assistance with immigration enforcement, protect student privacy, and ensure that public schools remain safe and accessible to all children regardless of immigration status.

“Many successful newcomer programs offer a combination of designated English language development coursework and early immersion in other mainstream classes, such as physical education,” wrote the fact sheet’s author, California Newcomer Network Executive Director Sam Finn. “Research suggests that welcoming and leveraging English learners’ home language in the classroom leads to improved academic outcomes and English language acquisition.”

Download the newcomer fact sheet: csba.pub/newcomers

REPD developed a suite of resources related to Board Bylaw 9240 – Board Training for both school district and county board members that detail the Professional Governance Standards developed by CSBA. Which reflect a consensus among hundreds of board members throughout the state who serve on the association’s Delegate Assembly.

Revised Dec. 1, 2024, the bylaw provides the pathway to implementing effective governance practices to ensure achievement of district and county goals.

The three documents for board members to read and use include:

• A fact sheet that covers the importance of professional development, mandated training, resources for professional development, and a list of considerations and questions for governance teams. It also includes feedback and quotes obtained from focus groups on the importance of professional development: csba.pub/BB9240
• A customizable communications template LEAs can use to share the “why” behind their professional development with the community: csba.pub/BB9240_comm_template
• An information sheet that GAMUT users can access that gives a quick overview of the updated board bylaw

“A commitment to board training can result in informed board members who are good stewards of public education, understand the importance of public education, and foster a community dedicated to continuous learning and support for public education,” the fact sheet states. “CSBA remains committed to supporting all LEA board members as they carry out their governance responsibilities, ensuring boards have the necessary tools, strategies, opportunities and skills necessary to perform their duties.”